The True King
by Cactus Bob
Summary: The monarchy begins to dissolve. In Yugi's attempt to set the world straight, he finds the true king and heir to the throne. But is the king willing to accept his legacy with his impure heritage?
1. New Age

Yu-Gi-Oh! © Kazuki Takahashi

This fic is certainly not one of my best--I was wondering whether or not I should even post it. But if one person likes it, I'll be happy.

* * *

"Yugi!" Yugi's grandfather, Solomon Mutou, bellowed. "Wake up! It's time for you to start your chores!" 

Yugi rolled over onto his side, moaning in regret that he had to rise so early. The sun wasn't even up yet! But his grandfather hadtaken him in after his parents were murdered, so early hours and hard work were a small price to pay from being in off the street. Yugi slipped out of his covers and off his bed, shaking his head to get the morning sleepiness out of his mind.

He removed his pajamas and pulled on his shirt and pants. He tried to brush his unruly, perpetually spiked hair, but it did not lay flat. It never did. The same was true for his grandfather, although Yugi's locks were tri-colored, while his grandfather's were gray with age.

He made his bed and climbed down the ladder of his loft in the stable to the hay-covered floor below. The cow lowed at him and he fed and milked her. Then, hauling the milk with him, he went into the main house.

"Morning, Grandpa," he said cheerfully, setting the pail of milk on the table. His grandfather, who was as short as he, put some bacon and some eggs in front of Yugi.

"Wash your hands before you eat," Grandpa began, but Yugi had already started tearing into his food. Yugi looked up and smiled apologetically. Grandpa sat down heavily in the chair across from Yugi. Though he had only woken a half an hour ago, he looked tired.

"Yugi," he said, "I know that it must be hard living here after what happened to your parents, but I really do appreciate your help around the house."

Yugi looked down. "It's the least I could do, Grandpa," he replied. He took gigantic bites of his breakfast and finished in a few minutes. "If I finish early, can I go see Tea?" he asked, shoving one last piece of bacon into his mouth for good measure.

Grandpa laughed. "If she can see you," he answered. Yugi grinned and ran off. His grandfather underestimated how quickly Yugi could really get his chores done because Yugi usually dawdled most of the day. When Yugi had somewhere to go, he could really be finished in just a few hours.

The sun began to rise while Yugi started all of his tasks. As the sun reached its zenith, Yugi rushed back into the house, covered in sweat. "I'll be in town, Grandpa!" he yelled, and then he dashed off down the street before Grandpa could respond.

It took him thirty minutes to walk into the heart of town. Yugi was always astounded by the extreme difference between the high-tech, clean city and his grandfather's archaic hovel. Still, the farm was home now.

Yugi's friend Tea was a very talented dancer who performed for tips in Central Square. Yet although she was so talented, tips were sparse and she had a harder time than Yugi of surviving. When Yugi saw her, she was spinning beautifully to the tune of a nameless musician.

The song ended, and she picked up the tips at her delicate feet. Yugi watched her frown. "Hey, Tea!" he called, running up to her. She smiled at him, and Yugi was glad to see the frown go.

"Yugi," she said, "how have you been? It's been about a week."

"You know that it's hard to get an excuse to leave the house except to sell eggs nowadays," Yugi said. "But it's nice to see you."

Tea shoved her coins into her pocket for her family's tavern. Business there was failing, as her parents' customers were usually drunks who couldn't afford to pay their tabs. "It's nice to see you too, even though you smell like a cow," she laughed.

Yugi blushed and looked at himself in the Central Square fountain. He had hay in his hair and dirt on his clothes, and the smell of cow must have come from sleeping above one for the last month. Tea put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I'm sorry," she said. "It's cool that you work on your Grandpa's farm."

"Thanks," Yugi said quietly, although deep down he knew that the life of a farmer or a rancher wasn't for him. He barely topped five feet, he was physically weak, and he was unaccustomed to a rural lifestyle.

His parents had lived in Ralkir City for sixteen years of Yugi's life. They were shopkeepers in South District because, being farthest from the royal palace, it was the least expensive place to be. But it was as clean anywhere else, for King Aknamkanon prided himself on keeping everything spotless—his city, his record, and his conscience.

Yugi had grown up with a love for humans, elves, even vampires… until the fateful day when Yugi returned from hanging out with Tea in Central Square and found his parents dead on the floor of their shop, their blood drained by a vampire. The investigation was dismissed quickly, as there were too many suspects and too little evidence.

Because of incidences like this, vampires were widely distrusted. Though some seemed to be stand-up members of the community—one even worked as one of the king's personal advisors—many vampires had an insatiable bloodlust and found humans to be the perfect meal.

Yet science had not yet found a way to identify a murderer by their teeth marks or their saliva. Maybe one day they would find his parents' killer… but not today. Today he had to continue living on and working as hard as he could for his one surviving relative.

"What have you been doing with your time?" Yugi asked, sitting down on the ground. Tea joined him.

"Dancing, mostly. Trying to earn some money for my parents, you know?" Yugi nodded. He knew perfectly well. "I've been helping my parents in the tavern too, when that musician over there isn't in the mood to play." The musician, whoever he was, nodded silently. "He's kind of a strange guy," Tea whispered, leaning close to Yugi's ear. "He never says anything."

Yugi smiled. You could meet the strangest of people in this city. Tea stood up and dusted off her clothes. "Hey, I have to go help my parents, okay?" she asked, looking down regretfully at her friend, who had traveled two miles to speak with her. "I'm really sorry…"

"It's fine," Yugi said honestly. "Don't think I don't understand that everyone does what they have to do." Tea nodded and walked off to her house, and Yugi did the same.

* * *

An announcement to all citizens of Ralkir City was given out early that morning. Yugi decided to leave the farm and head into the city to hear the news. He was among many other people who had gathered in North District, in the courtyard just below the royal palace, to hear the news. 

Yugi located Tea in the crowd. "What do you think it's about?" he asked. Tea shook her head.

"I heard that it was something about the king," Tea replied. "Maybe he's finally gotten an heir?"

Everyone knew that King Aknamkanon had no children, though he had been trying for the majority of his rule. As far as most people were aware, the queen was barren, so an heir would be an impossibility for them unless the king decided to have an affair.

"I don't think so," Yugi said quietly. "The king wouldn't have an affair, would he? And even if he did, he wouldn't publicize it like this."

Three men walked up onto the balcony in the king and queen's place. One had long, blue tinged hair, the other had lavender eyes and light blond hair, and the last had pure white hair and strikingly pale skin. "Where's the king?" one Balisean asked, and murmuring started to travel throughout the people.

"Those are councilmembers Dartz, Marik, and Bakura!" Yugi exclaimed suddenly. That explained Bakura's extremely pale skin—he, too, was one of the vampires in Ralkir. Dartz, sporting one green eye and one yellow eye, raised his hands to silence the growing din.

"Peace, my people," he began soothingly. "King Aknamkanon passed away late last night." A gigantic roar hurt Yugi's eardrums as the people screamed in indignation and anger. King Aknamkanon was well loved. "He has left no heir, as you well know," Dartz continued, raising his voice so that he could be heard over the din of the crowd. "And therefore Marik, Bakura, and I, His Majesty's most beloved advisers, have assumed a shared role of kingship among us."

The people now quieted in curiosity. Three rule as one? This would mean the abolishment of the monarchy, a system of government that had been held in Baliseh for fifteen hundred years. "Citizens and subjects," the vampire Bakura said, "welcome to a new age!"


	2. A Soldier Named Yami

Two weeks later, the triumvirate had proved themselves to be tyrannical and overbearing. Bakura had stopped enforcing justice on any vampire that killed and ate a human. Dartz was drafting men between twenty and thirty into his private army. Marik was rumored to have recruited the infamous scientist Maximillion Pegasus to develop magical weapons of incredible power.

"I knew that this wasn't going to work out!" Yugi yelled angrily. "Bakura's a vampire! How could anyone have trusted him to be a part of the triumvirate?"

Tea sat on the fountain, thinking. "It's not just him. Each one of them has been getting more and more evil. People are going to revolt."

"Well, why shouldn't we?" Yugi asked. "It's not as if they wouldn't deserve it."

"Yugi," Tea said gently, getting up and putting her hands on Yugi's shoulders, "it's the government. People are going to get killed if they rebel."

"People are going to get killed if they don't!" Yugi retorted. "Deep down, all vampires are murderers, Tea."

"_Some_ vampires are murderers. Some elves are murderers. Some humans are murderers!" Tea said earnestly. "Yugi, if you're thinking about doing anything drastic…"

"I'm not going to do anything stupid," Yugi said, turning his back on her. "I'm just going to do what I think is right."

He began to walk off. "Yugi! Don't be an idiot!" Tea called after him. He kept walking, and she ran after him. "Look, if I have to follow you all the way to the stocks, I'm going to do it because we're friends, okay?" she said. "So where are you going?"

"First, I want to find out more about vampires," Yugi said. "So I'm going to Joey and Tristan's place." Joey and Tristan were bounty hunters with a specialty in vampire hunting. If anyone knew a vampire's habits, it was them.

They walked into East District, where most of the higher class businesses were located. Joey and Tristan went out on missions that took them nearly all over the world, so they may or may not have been at their shop at the time. Tea was secretly hoping that they were two countries away so that Yugi's quest for revenge would be deterred, but unfortunately for her, the shop sign said that they were open.

Yugi grinned and walked inside. Joey and Tristan, who were drinking a few beers at the counter, looked up at him and Tea and beamed. "Hey!" Joey said, taking Yugi into a strong hug. "It's been like forever!"

"Hey, how have you guys been?" Tristan asked. "Rough news about the triumvirate, huh?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Yugi admitted. "Triumvir Bakura is a vampire."

Joey nodded knowingly. "And you got problems wit' this 'cause o' your parents?" he asked. Yugi nodded. "And you don't think he's a good ruler?"

"No, I don't," Yugi said fervently. "Vampires want to eat us, Joey! Do you think that they're going to want the best for us?"

"No, we don't," Tristan said, smiling. "And since you don't either, we have something we want to show you."

"Show us?" Tea asked. What had she gotten herself into? She should never have let Yugi go to a bunch of bounty hunters for advice.

Tristan took a key out of his pocket and opened a door behind the counter. "And we're not the only ones who think this way. So many people have started to distrust the triumvirate that we decided to get organized."

He swung open the bar and revealed a long set of stairs. Yugi and Tea walked tentatively down it, while Joey and Tristan followed them, locking the door behind them. Yugi began to get a little nervous.

The soft light of candles and torches lit the basement, for only the palace could afford real electric lights. A dozen people sat on wooden chairs at wooden tables, with a rostrum and podium at the far end of the room. When Yugi and Tea entered, everyone stared at them. "Hey, guys, this is Yugi and Tea, our new members!" Tristan said. A few people clapped, but everyone else continued to stare.

"Uh… why don't we have a seat over there?" Joey suggested. They piled in around an empty table. "This is da Resistance," Joey explained. "A friend o' ours needed headquarters, and he came ta Tristan and me ta ask if he could use our bar."

"Everyone knows that vampires have a taste for human blood, so we decided that if we're going to put our vamp-hunting knowledge to good use, here would be the best place," Tristan said. "So we became members too. Mostly we've been working on spreading the word, but I've heard tell we're actually going to get a few missions soon."

"Missions?" Tea asked. "You mean… we're going to be spies, or something?"

"Mostly, yeah," Tristan answered. "We don't have enough forces to pull off an all-out assault."

"So we'll be able to join too?" Yugi asked enthusiastically, his nervousness gone in an instant.

Joey laughed. "Don't see why not. I'll get ya a key." Joey stood up and knocked on a door at the other end of the room. He muttered something to the person in the other room, and he was allowed in after a few moments.

Suddenly, the door at the top of the stairs burst open. "It's a raid!" someone yelled, and everyone jumped up. Some drew their swords. A man clad in full armor strode casually down the stairs. He was wearing a sand-colored helmet with decorative horns that covered most of his face.

"I'm not here to turn you in," the man said. He had a deep voice, and through his helmet Yugi could see dark violet eyes. "I'm here to join the Resistance."

Joey walked out of the other room and a muscular man walked out after him. The man, who was supposedly the creator of the resistance, loomed over the mysterious man in armor. The founder stood one or two feet above the intruder, yet the armor-clad man exuded an aura of power and confidence that made Yugi think that he would win any fight.

"You said you're here to join the Resistance?" the founder asked.

"That's right," the armor-clad man replied blithely. "What's the matter? Not accepting volunteers anymore?" He glanced at Yugi and Tea.

"How'd you find us?" one angry-looking woman demanded.

The man shrugged through his heavy mail. "I have a gift for these sorts of things."

"What's your name?" the founded asked.

"My name is Yami," the man said.

"Any credentials?"

"Did you ask anyone else here for credentials?" The question caught the founder off guard. He shoved another key into Yami's gloved hand and walked up to the podium.

"Alright, it's time to get down to business!" he said. "First of all, I'm going to organize you mangy street-rats into groups, so that you can get more done. Sandy, Amy, Geneva, and Nicole, you're in group one. You cab-men—" He pointed to the group of men dressed in cabby's clothes. "You're in group two. Joey, Tristan, Tea, Yugi, and Yami, you're in group three. Now get to know yourselves!"

He stormed, muttering, back into his room, and group three approached their new member. "Hi. You're Yami, right?" Yugi asked cheerfully. Yami nodded. "I'm Yugi. It's nice to meet you." He extended his hand, but Yami did not take it. He retracted it sheepishly. "Well, this is Tea," he said, pointing to Tea, "and this is Joey and Tristan."

"Why are you all here? You and your friend Tea don't look like you know how to fight," Yami said coldly. Yugi blushed and Tea looked indignant.

"Well… It's true, we don't know how to fight, but I want to help any way that I can, and I think that Tea does too," Yugi explained. Tea said nothing. "Besides, we won't really need to fight with you around, huh?" He gestured to Yami's armor. "I mean, those are the clothes of a Stanberg general, right?"

"That's correct," Yami said.

"So, you must be pretty experienced with that sort of thing, right?" Yugi asked.

"I can hold my own." Yugi saw that he wasn't going to get much information out of the taciturn stranger and gave up.

"Well, it will be nice working with you," Yugi said. "I'll be here in my spare time, when I'm not working for my grandpa."

"Spare time?" Yami asked.

"Yeah. All of us have other jobs, you know," Tea stated. "We won't be able to be here all hours of the day. Yugi and I still have to take care of our families, and Joey and Tristan have a business to run."

"…I see," Yami said at length. "Well, I do not have so many other affairs. I will be available when you are… ready to start." His voice seemed strained with covered frustration. He wanted to work with someone who knew what they were doing, someone professional. Much to his disappointment, group three was anything but professional.


	3. The True and Unknown King

One week later, the entire gang found themselves in town and work-free for the entire afternoon and evening. They met in the Resistance HQ at noon, and Yugi carried lunch for himself and for the rest of his group. Everyone except Yami ate homemade cheese on freshly baked bread while listening to Karl Henson, the founder, give out everyone's missions.

"Group three!" he said, grabbing the gang's attention. "Since General Yami over there has a knack for sensing sneakiness, I decided to give you a reconnaissance mission to the royal storehouses."

"The storehouses?" Yami asked. It was the first thing he had said all day. "Why the storehouses?"

"Amy here just told me that she heard some rumors that the triumvirate was redirecting some of the country's resources to illegal research and development," Henson explained. "Magical experiments, I heard."

"How are we supposed to get inside?" Yugi inquired. "The storehouses are guarded."

"Tea over there is going to be a safety inspector, and you boys are going to be her assistants. Except for you, Yami. You're going to be her guard, since you refuse to take off that damn armor."

It was true. As far as anyone knew, Yami had not ever removed any part of his heavy plate mail armor in front of anyone else. Aside from his short stature and his striking violet eyes, no one had any idea what he looked like.

Henson tossed Tea a business suit and an inspector's badge and gave everyone but Yami a pair of dark, government style glasses. He then shoved a hat over Yugi's outrageous hair, which flattened over his eyes. "Glasses or not, midget, anyone's gonna recognize your hair if you have it standing up like that."

Yugi pushed his hair out of his vision and pouted. "It's not like I can do anything about it," he muttered.

"Tea, make an excuse to go to the administration office and search through their records. See where the resources are going," Henson instructed. "Leave now. I've already faked an appointment for you to make an inspection."

After changing into their disguises, group three piled out of the underground lair and walked through the streets, trying to maintain a businesslike and official appearance to avoid suspicion when they approached the storehouses. Yugi leaned over to Tea. "Tea, do you know anything about being a safety inspector?" he whispered.

Tea frowned. "No. But I can fake it, like Mr. Henson said."

They walked up to the guard at the storehouses and Tea confidently held out her badge. "My name is Christina Brown, and I have an appointment for a safety inspection today at one o'clock. Or are you not ready to see me?"

Her direct manner caught the sentry off-guard, and he stammered. "Yes-yes, of course, ma'am, right this way." He opened the door for her and she walked through without another word or glance. Yami strolled in after her, looking at the guard with such merciless scrutiny that the color drained from the young man's face. Yugi hurried after, deciding to try a persona closer to his own, one of a flustered, overworked, and shy assistant.

Tea walked quickly up to the man coming to meet her and cut him off before he could speak. "First of all, I'd like to see your administration offices. I want to see exactly where your money and your resources are going." The man, obviously more accustomed to safety inspectors than the inexperienced guard, nodded curtly and pointed to a room to their left.

Luckily for the spies, neither the walls nor the door were made of glass, and the man did not follow them. They could do whatever they wanted in there without anyone watching.

They began with the resource records from the last three weeks, when the triumvirate had first assumed power. Everyone, even the reticent and somewhat supercilious Yami, started to look through a few hand-written files. Then Yugi stumbled across something from the last week.

"Hey, guys, look at this," Yugi said, pushing his hair out of his eyes once again. "It looks like a lot of metal, food, and phytocrystals have been shipped to the Center of Research and Development, just like Mr. Henson said."

"Shipped?" Yami repeated, scoffing. "The real Center of Research and Development is downstairs."

The rest of the gang peered at him. "Whaddya mean, Yami?" Joey asked. "Research and Development is in North District."

"They have another one, a secret one, where they conduct experiments of a more… controversial nature," Yami explained. "Whatever Dartz, Marik, and Bakura are working on down there, I have a hard time believing that it's anything good."

"Yami, how do you know all of this?" Yugi asked. Yami didn't answer.

"I think we should go there now," he said finally. Yugi's jaw dropped. "Listen," he said, "The real Research and Development relies heavily on secrecy, and its protection consists of a few cheaply bribed and painfully weak guards. If we find out what they're doing with those resources, or, better yet, stop them from continuing their research, then we'd be doing some actual good. Or do you want to waste more time?"

Without waiting for them to respond, he walked out of the room. "I really don't want to know what he's gonna do if we're not there to stop him," Tristan said worriedly. "The dude's hardcore."

They dashed after him, ignoring the pretense of being government workers. Almost everyone on the first floor was already unconscious. Yami was standing in front of the two guards in front of a door, staring them down. "Let us in and I won't kill you," he said quietly. The guards shivered in fear, but they did not move. One reached for the alarm and Yami knocked him and his friend out so quickly that his movement formed a blur. Yugi didn't think that it was possible for anyone, human or not, to move so quickly.

He searched the bodies of the fallen guards and pulled out a set of keys. He unlocked the door in front of him and turned back to the others. "Are you coming?" he asked.

They nodded and followed him down the stairs into the hidden Research and Development Center. Another pair of guards stood at the bottom of the stairs, but Yami knocked them unconscious as well. Without skipping a beat, Yami walked into the first room, labeled "Magical and Biomechanical Experimentation".

A tall man in a red suit with gray hair stood stooped over a strange mechanism. The device was one of the many in the room that Yugi did not understand. "Come to kill me?" the man asked, casually turning around. "Ah, well, too bad. And I had so many surprises in store."

"I don't want to hear about your 'surprises'," Yami said harshly. "I either want to hear that you're giving up whatever sick experiment you're working on, or I want to hear nothing from you at all. Do you understand?"

"Poorly veiled death threats, I see," the man said. "I am Maximillion Pegasus, a scientist of incomparable esteem, and who are you to try and threaten me? _Yami_, a Stanberg reject looking for revenge against 'the establishment'? Or does this vendetta go deeper?"

"How do you know my name?" Yami growled. The tone would have sent most other men to their graves, but this Pegasus merely laughed.

"I may only have one eye, but I can still see more than most people," Pegasus said cryptically. "I know what lies beneath the armor, Atem-boy."

Yami flinched. It was the first time any of the other had seen him rattled. "Oh, it's true, isn't it?" Pegasus continued. "So it really is you, Prince Atem, after all this time!" He lifted his arm and snapped his fingers. Yami's armor shattered into the pieces, and Yami fell backwards onto the ground, panting.

Yami had hair and skin nearly like Yugi's, but there was a drastic difference between them. Yami's ears were long, perpendicular to his head, and pointed. Those were elf's ears. Yet there was something wrong. Elves had star-shaped pupils and were incredibly tall. Yami had normal pupils and was shorter than even Tea.

"Tried to run away, didn't you? But one can never run far enough from one's heritage, hm?" Pegasus asked mockingly. "Everyone who sees you would know that you're no human and no elf, either."

"Shut up!" Yami yelled angrily, standing up without the casual dignity he usually possessed.

"Of course, no one would know that you're former king Aknamkanon's son," Pegasus said, grinning.

Yugi turned to Yami with wide eyes. "Yami, is it true?" he asked. "Are you really—"

"But he is, naturally," Pegasus interrupted. Yami looked pointedly at the floor. "King Aknamkanon, finding himself with no heir, made love to a veiled prostitute in a brothel outside the city. It wasn't until the next morning that he realized that the prostitute was, in fact, an elven princess who had been banished by her people for her shameless promiscuity.

"So what was the king to do now? Instead of having an heir he could pass off as the queen's, he was left with a half-elf son that everyone would know was illegitimate. And after all these years, here stands Prince Atem, the true and unknown king of Baliseh."

Atem grabbed a table and, swinging it with superhuman strength, smashed it over Pegasus's head in rage. "You know _nothing _about me," he seethed, and he spat on Pegasus's unconscious form.

"Atem, stop!" Yugi exclaimed, running up and grabbing Atem's arm. Atem pushed him off and Yugi fell to the ground. Joey, Tristan, and Tea stared at the two of them, wondering who would act first.

Atem grabbed one of Pegasus's contraptions and tossed it into the corner, where it sizzled and sparked and set piles of notes aflame. The fires on the papers grew until it engulfed the entire corner and threatened to take the whole building with it.

Yugi picked himself off the ground and ran with the others outside. As they emerged from the storehouses, small bombs went off as the explosive phytocrystals caught fire. Soon the storehouses were completely ablaze, and all the resources within it were no more.

Atem walked away from the gang, coughing slightly. Yugi watched him go as he walked toward Joey and Tristan's shop. If Atem really was the true king, then why didn't he assert his right and take over in the triumvirate's place? Even a half-elf would be better than a vampire. But an illegitimate son… Was Atem right in thinking that the public would never accept him because of his heritage?


	4. Species

"What do you think Atem's going to do now that we know?" Tea asked as they, too, returned to headquarters. "It sounds strange calling him that now…"

"He won't be able to hide it from anyone anymore," Yugi said. The others looked at him in confusion. "He was wearing a Stanberg general's armor because the helmet has horns. Without those horns, he wouldn't be able to hide his ears, and I can't imagine that that sort of armor wasn't exactly easy to come by."

"So he ain't gonna be able ta hide it at all anymore?" Joey asked. "But… nobody's ever heard o' a half-elf before! He's gonna get killed in da streets or somethin'!"

"I think he can take care of himself, man," Tristan argued. "He's stronger and faster than a human and an elf combined."

"I think that's the point," Yugi said. "He kind of has the best of both worlds."

"Except for being an outcast," Tea retorted. "Do you think that the resistance is even going to accept him now?"

"Da resistance would accept a drowned rat, Tea," Joey said. "I don't think they're gonna mind havin' a guy like him on their side."

They hurried back to headquarters and overheard the volunteers muttering to each other under their breaths. Atem must have obviously come through here. Yugi walked up to Henson. "Mr. Henson, did Atem come through here?" he asked.

"Who's Atem?" Henson asked, frowning. "Have any of you street rats been recruiting people without my consent?" he bellowed into the crowd.

"No, no, that's just a nickname," Yugi lied. "Sorry, I meant Yami."

"Oh," Henson said, seeming mollified. "Yeah. He just headed down to his room a couple of minutes ago, sporting some elf ears. What happened on your mission, anyway?"

"Yami has a room?" Yugi asked. Henson nodded and pointed to another set of stairs leading to a second basement. "I need to go talk to him. The others will fill you in on what happened."

Tea grabbed his arm before he walked away. "What are we supposed to tell him about Atem?" she whispered.

"Tell him that Atem's a half-elf, but don't mention anything about him being the prince," Yugi replied. Tea nodded in understanding, and Yugi walked off toward Atem's room. He knocked on the heavy wooden door.

"What do you want?" Atem asked harshly.

"I want to talk to you about what happened earlier," Yugi answered.

"Do you have anything to say that wouldn't be completely pointless?" Atem demanded.

Yugi frowned. "I don't think that telling someone that they're wanted would ever be pointless."

Atem was silent for a moment. Then the door opened in front of Yugi. Atem looked unusually pale, for his skin had been deprived of real sunlight for who knows how long a time. His slender, elongated ears twitched a bit as Yugi gaped at them. Atem sighed. "If you came here just to stare—"

"I'm sorry," Yugi said hurriedly. "I didn't mean to… I'm sorry."

Atem stood aside and held the door open for Yugi. Yugi entered and Atem quickly shut the door behind him. "Atem," Yugi began, "why did you hide this from everyone?"

Atem shook his head, chuckling sadly. "Do you think that anyone would be comfortable being in the same room with a half-elf? I'm not what nature intended, Yugi, and that makes people afraid of me. When people are afraid, they do terrible things. Can you understand that?" He spoke with a softness that Yugi had never heard from him before. So this was the real Atem.

"I can understand," Yugi said. "But I'm not afraid of you."

"And me being the king's son?" Atem continued, leaning on a small table. "That just makes everything worse."

"Why do you think that?" Yugi asked. "Everyone upstairs would prefer you to the triumvirate. If you just told everyone the truth, I bet you would have half the population of Baliseh on your side."

"They would prefer me to Bakura, but what about Dartz and Marik?" Atem asked. "Baliseh is a human country, and humans want to be ruled by humans. They would choose one vampire and two humans over a half-elf."

"How can you be so sure?" Yugi asked.

"Because I know human nature, and I've seen it again and again," Atem retorted. "Since before I can remember, I was hidden and denied by my father. I barely knew anyone, but I could hear through the walls of my small prison, and I found out what humans are like when they are alone. They are self-righteous racists, and they don't want anything to do with any species but their own!"

"Is that what you think about me?" Yugi asked.

"You joined the resistance because you hate vampires and nothing more," Atem said. "You're no better than the others."

"I have a reason for thinking that!" Yugi said angrily. "I don't hate vampires just because they're vampires. I hate vampires because they like to kill humans but they pretend to be just as good as everyone else. I hate vampires because they killed my parents!"

Atem was silent. "So you have a reason," he said finally. "Everyone does. Everyone can find a reason to hate."

"Everyone can find a reason to love," Yugi said. "I'm not going to pretend that I understand what you went through as a child, but I can promise you that my friends and I don't hate you because of what you are." He turned back toward the door. "You may be a misfit, but we're the biggest bunch of misfits in Baliseh, so you came to the right place."

He walked upstairs and the others looked inquiringly at him. "I can't tell if he's going to be all right or not," Yugi said, sitting down at a table with them. "But I've never seen him shaken like that. It's like he doesn't believe that anyone could be friends with him."

"But we're friends with him," Tea argued.

"I know that, but I don't think that he does," Yugi explained. "Not yet." He sighed. "What did you tell Henson?"

"Everythin'," Joey answered. "I mean, almost everythin'. We told him that 'bout da storehouses, 'bout Pegasus, and 'bout Atem bein' a half-elf."

"How'd he take it?" Yugi asked. "The last thing Atem needs is someone else telling him he's a freak."

"I think he kinda expected it," Tristan said. "He said he knew that there was 'something wrong with that midget.'"

"He didn't seem to mind too much," Tea said. "He's happy to have someone like Atem on his side, I think."

Tristan leaned back in his chair and put his feet on the table. "So, we've broken into a government building and burned a research facility down. What happens next?"

"I don't know, but I should get home to my family," Tea said, looking at the grandfather clock in the corner. "It's time for dinner."

Joey salivated. "Dinner?" he asked pathetically.

Tea slapped him on the back of the head, but she said, "You guys can come too if you help clean up afterward." Joey and Tristan whooped immediately, but Yugi shook his head.

"You go. I should get back to my grandpa," he said quietly. The others piled out, and Yugi stopped and looked around the headquarters for a moment. He had actually done something real here. Now Pegasus wouldn't be able to conduct any more of his demented experiments. But there was a darker side to his contribution. He had let Pegasus die. Did serving the greater good mean sacrificing the good within yourself? And even when Dartz, Marik, and Bakura were taken down, if Atem didn't decide to become king, then someone else would take his place, someone who could be equally as despotic. Was it worth it to fight for good when evil kept coming back?

"You look pensive," Atem said suddenly. Yugi spun around and saw Atem standing behind him. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"It… it doesn't have anything to do with you, don't worry," Yugi said, returning dejectedly to his regular sitting position. Atem sat down next to him and peered at him with his soul-searching violet eyes. "It's nothing," Yugi repeated.

"Then why, after all your friends have gone, do you sit here alone, staring at the floor?" Atem inquired. Yugi frowned.

"What if none of this means anything?" Yugi asked. Atem raised his eyebrows. "What if… we let Pegasus die for nothing? What if history is doomed to repeat itself? What if Baliseh never has a king like your father?"

"Do you think it would be better to give up all hope and submit to what you know is not right?" Atem asked. "If evil endures, then good must endure as well, or there would be no balance in the world. If history is doomed to repeat itself, we must play our parts and work for a small moment of peace. If we don't, evil will win once and for all."

"Thanks," Yugi said quietly. Atem nodded and began to go back to his room. "Atem," Yugi said, stopping him, "do you… do you want to come over for dinner?"

Atem turned around, a look of pure surprise on his face. "What?" he asked incredulously.

"I need to get home to my grandpa now, but I'm sure he'd be happy to meet you," Yugi explained. "It won't be anything fancy, but it's a warm meal, and it would be nicer with a friend."

"… Friend?" Atem asked. Yugi nodded, smiling. "I'd like that."


	5. A New Friend

"So your grandfather owns a farm?" Atem asked. "It seems a long way from town for someone who's working for the Resistance."

"About that," Yugi said. "My grandpa doesn't know what I'm doing. I'd prefer that you don't mention it, okay?"

"Then where did you meet a half-elf?" Atem inquired, his ears twitching.

"Grandpa doesn't know or care about politics or races or anything," Yugi answered. "He could tell a wheat seed from a barley seed, but he couldn't tell a half-elf from a nymph." Atem chuckled. "I met you in Tea's bar while I was visiting her. That's what we'll tell him."

They were silent for a moment as they reached the broad dirt road that led to the Mutou house. It had recently rained, so the dirt had turned to mud. Yugi felt a little embarrassed, but Atem made no signs to say that he minded.

"Your parents were killed by vampires?" Atem asked suddenly.

Yugi nodded. "It was last month. That's when I came to live with my grandpa. It was a big change, going from living in the city to living two miles away from it, but it's nice to see my grandpa so much more often."

"The last time I saw my father face-to-face was when I was eight years old," Atem said. "I never met my mother. By the time I ran away, I had gotten fed up with hiding in the palace. I hated people, and I hated my father, and I hated the world. I didn't realize how small and frail-looking it would seem once I'd seen it."

"You've traveled the world?" Yugi asked in awe.

"Most of it," Atem replied, smiling. "I've never stayed anywhere for a long time. I never wanted anyone to ask what I really was. It was harder to disguise myself when I was young, for I hadn't gone to Stanberg yet. But I learned a lot while I traveled… sometimes more than I cared to."

Atem turned to Yugi. "The world can be… unpleasant. No matter what city you go to, there will always be people who will disregard your feelings for their own amusement or gain."

"I used to know people like that when I went to school, but I think that they were just insecure," Yugi said lightly. "They just picked on me because they thought I was better than them."

"That's an interesting way of thinking about it," Atem replied. He seemed intrigued.

"Come on, if they thought I was beneath them, then they wouldn't have paid any attention to me," Yugi laughed. As Atem was contemplating what Yugi said, the figure of Solomon Mutou's diminutive farm emerged from behind a cluster of trees. "There it is," Yugi said, smiling softly. "It's… it's not much…"

"It's lovely," Atem said comfortingly.

They walked up to the door of the small cabin. Their shoes and the bottoms of their pants were covered in mud from the journey. "Grandpa won't mind," Yugi said hurriedly, opening the door with his key.

Yugi's grandfather was just taking a few roasted squirrels out of the oven. He turned around and looked at Atem with surprise. There was an uncomfortable moment while Yugi and Atem were waiting for Grandpa's reaction, but Grandpa just laughed and set the squirrels on three plates on the table in the middle of the room.

"Well, you have to be the first friend that Yugi's brought home for dinner," he said jovially. "And I was expecting Tea first. What's your name?"

"My name is Atem," Atem said. "It's very nice to meet you, sir."

"I just made extra. I was expecting to eat the rest for breakfast, but we have plenty of eggs, so who needs cold squirrel," Grandpa said. "How long have you known my grandson?"

Atem glanced at Yugi. "Just for a week, Grandpa. I met him at Tea's bar," Yugi answered. He beckoned Atem to sit down and began serving bread and homemade butter for the three of them.

"Tell me about yourself," Grandpa said. "How old are you? Do you work, or are you still a student?"

"I'm seventeen years old. I work in town for a private investigation agency," Atem lied masterfully. "I was not in the position to pursue a higher education, I'm afraid."

"The same thing happened to Yugi," Grandpa replied. "It's hard to avoid. But it's just as well. When I was a kid, only the scholars and the scientists needed to go to school. Everything else was hard work, dedication, and experience."

"I agree," Atem said. Yugi smiled uncertainly. Atem and Grandpa were getting along very well—so well that it seemed unnatural. Grandpa was old, and Atem seemed to have an old spirit. Maybe that's why they were so compatible.

The rest of the meal passed in pleasant conversation between Atem and Grandpa, while Yugi mostly stayed silent. Atem seemed more at ease now than he had ever been before, and that pleased Yugi. But their plates were quickly cleared, and the friendly dinner was over.

"We would invite you to stay, if we had anywhere for you to sleep except for the barn," Yugi said sadly.

Atem shook his head. "I had a wonderful time. It was a more friendly meal than I have had for a many years… likely my entire life. Your grandfather was very kind to me."

"I'll see you… next Saturday?" Yugi asked.

Atem nodded, grinning, and began walking down the mud road back to Ralkir. Yugi waved goodbye to him. It was nice to see him smile, Yugi thought. He had even laughed once or twice during their walk to Yugi's home. He would turn out to be a wonderful friend.

* * *

"New assignments, street rats, new assignments," Henson bellowed, stomping up onto the podium on the Saturday after the burning of the storehouses. Atem walked noiselessly up the stairs leading to his rented room and sat down at the table with Yugi and the others. He smiled warmly at them, causing Joey and Tristan to look at each other and Tea to raise her eyebrows at Yugi.

Henson began explaining some assignments to groups one and two first, giving group three an opportunity to talk for the first time in a week. "Hey, Atem," Tristan said uncomfortably.

"Tristan," Atem greeted.

"Uh… how was ya week?" Joey asked with equal awkwardness.

"Fairly good. I didn't do much," Atem replied.

"You seem to be in a good mood," Tea said innocently.

Atem chuckled softly. "I apologize for my cold way of acting toward you before. It was my interpretation of human character, and not your character itself, which led me to distrust you."

"So ya know that we're cool even though you're a freak, right?" Joey asked cheerfully. Yugi was horrified and waved his hands for Joey to stop from behind Atem's back, but Atem didn't seem offended.

"It's good to know," he said softly. Henson then turned to their table.

"My dear group three," he said, "your actions last week were the biggest damn mistake you could have made if you threw yourself off the palace balcony, which is somethin' that I'd be recommending to you right about now!"

The slight smile on Atem's face faded quickly, and he glared at Henson with an enmity that made Yugi shudder. "What were you all thinking, burning down the storehouses?!" Henson continued lividly. "Sure, you stopped whatever the hell the triumvirate was planning, but you destroyed most of the resources of the entire city! Now all the food we got left is what the palace is willing to sell us, and it will probably be more than anyone can afford!"

Yugi and Tea turned red and hung their heads in shame. Joey, Tristan, and Atem were looking at Henson with hate and anger in their eyes. "Besides that, you drew attention to us and what we're trying to do. Now the government is looking for someone they can blame this on, and if they find us, we're toast, got it?"

Henson sighed and leaned against his podium. "So, this time," he said more quietly, "I expect you to _follow my orders_, or you street rats are going to be _exterminated_, understand?"

"Try it," Atem muttered under his breath.

"What's that, Yami?" Henson asked. "You looking to stir up trouble? I bet that the government is just waiting to get their hands or something like you, so don't push your luck, or you'll end up in a cage with the rest of the animals."

In a flash, Atem was up on the stage, holding Henson a foot off the floor by the throat. "Say that again and you'll die before your next breath," Atem growled.

"Atem, no!" Yugi yelled, running up to him. "Atem, let him go. He won't say it again," he pleaded breathlessly.

Atem glanced at Yugi and then dropped Henson to the floor. "Give us your assignment and I'll do my best to _follow your orders_," he seethed.

Henson stood up with dignity and brushed off his clothing. "You and the other midget are going into the sewers to redirect the White River into the east sluice," he explained with out-of-character meekness. "Bakura ordered it cut off and he's been hiding vampire fugitives from human vigilantes there."

He turned to Joey, Tristan, and Tea. "Cheer up, you three. You're going to a party. I got fancy clothes for you all to pretend to be ambassadors for Kaylik when you go to the annual palace ball."

Tea, though she despised Henson for his threat to Atem, definitely cheered up. "The palace ball? Really?"

"Your job is to find out if Dartz, Marik, and Bakura have been pissing off the other countries as much as they've been pissing us off. It's this evening, so you all better make sure that you're prettied up before you go." He pointed to the chest at the back of the stage and left for his room without another word. Apparently a close-up exhibition of Atem's immense strength had disturbed him.

Tea hurried over to the chest and opened it up, taking out a stunning pink and white chiffon dress with an empress bust and wide sleeves. She gasped as she saw it. "It's beautiful!" she exclaimed, holding it up to her. "Oh, do you think he'll let me keep it afterwards?"

"Tea, where would you wear it?" Yugi asked, although he was happy to see her so excited.

As Joey and Tristan went through their own fancy clothing, Yugi turned to Atem. He was still fuming. "You… know much about the sewers?" Yugi asked timidly.

"I lived there right after I escaped from the palace. I doubt it's changed much," Atem answered. "I can show you there when you're ready to leave."

"We're gonna go get ready, okay?" Tristan said. Tea giggled and dashed up the stairs, clutching her beautiful evening gown. Tristan and Joey followed at a slower pace.

"Um, I'm ready now, if you are," Yugi said to Atem.

Atem held out a hand. "Then let's go."


	6. Rumors

Yugi had never been in the sewers before, and now he realized why. Though "the sewers" was just a term for the conduit through which the White River ran and not an actual drain, it was still damp, rich with mold, and a breeding ground for vermin. As Atem stopped to remember which way led to the blocked off east sluice gate, dirty water dripped on Yugi's forehead. He would have stepped backwards on the narrow walkway, but he had just navigated a rat's nest and he wasn't inclined to have to do it again.

"This way," Atem said finally, and skipped lightly over the rushing channel of water. Yugi jumped with less grace and stumbled as he landed. They began to walk along one of the many streams that were interconnected and redirected throughout the city. It was cold and dark, yet Yugi was determined not to complain.

Atem had been pensive since his encounter with Henson. Yugi kept trying to find the right words to comfort him, to get him as happy as he had been before, but what could he say in such a position? "Um, Atem?" he asked. Atem stopped and turned around. "What happened earlier… I… Mr. Henson shouldn't have said it, but I don't think that he realized what he was doing."

"He didn't realize what he was doing when he called me a freak and threatened to turn me in to the triumvirate?"

Yugi fidgeted. "He wasn't being serious. They wouldn't trust his advice without proof, not with his social status."

Atem sighed and shook his head. "It's just another time that humans have disappointed me," he said sadly. "You've seen blind prejudice. You know what it looks like. That's how people treat things that are different. You and your friends are exceptions to the rule and nothing more."

He turned again, and Yugi frowned. Maybe he was right; maybe humans as a whole would never be able to accept him. "But don't think," Atem continued, "that this means I won't be able to trust you. You've already proven yourself to me."

Yugi's frown turned to a grin, and he jogged briefly to catch up with Atem. "So you used to live down here?" Yugi asked lightly, feeling much more comfortable speaking with Atem now.

"When I was a child, before I started my travels," Atem answered. "I came down here where no criminal would dare go because of the river. But I found a place that was dry, and I lived there. I drank the river water and ate the rats for food. I didn't see the sun or talk to another soul for two years."

"It sounds terrible," Yugi said, shuddering.

"It was the best thing for me, then," Atem replied. "I despised everyone and all that they stood for. Until I met a few friends of mine."

"Friends?" Yugi asked. "This was when you were ten?"

"Yes. They had been recruited by my father to maintain the sewers, guard it, so forth. I met them and threatened them with death, but I quickly realized that they meant me no harm. We became very close over the next few months. I started to think that there might be some good creatures in the world, ones who would accept me for who I was, and that's what inspired me to begin traveling from country to country. Still, I have found few like them."

"What do you mean? Who were they?" Yugi inquired.

Atem laughed. "Did you know that the door to the east sluice gate opens inward, towards the stream?" he asked. "It's nearly impossible to open without a dozen strong men."

Yugi's face fell. "Then how are we supposed to open it? You may be strong, but I'm not, and we're not a dozen, anyway!"

Atem strode up to the east sluice gate, which was surrounded by a platform suspended above the rushing river below. He bent down on one knee and began speaking to the water in a series of strange tongue clicks and bark-like sounds. Yugi stared at him in confusion until several ghostly arms came out of the river and began petting Atem in a friendly manner. Four pairs of glowing eyes shown from the murky depths.

Atem continued to talk to them in that animalistic language until they sank back down into the water. He looked over at Yugi, who was looking blankly between him and the water.

Suddenly, the stream of water somehow seemed to veer around the gate, forming a perfect semicircle of dry ground. Atem casually walked over, unlatched the door, and began to pull it open. Yugi hurried to help him, though it didn't make much of a difference, and the door slowly began to turn on its hinges until it clicked into place.

Immediately, the water began rushing in its normal pattern, except for the fact that half of it was now heading straight for the outlawed vampires' secret hideout. It would be completely flooded within minutes.

Four ghostly figures of naked women rose out of the water, their blue-white hair flowing over their bodies, and waved Atem goodbye. He waved back and spoke a few brief words of thanks in their language.

"Those… were your friends?" Yugi asked, shocked. Atem nodded. "But… um…" He didn't want to ask, "What were they?" Atem could be offended.

"They were nymphs," Atem answered nonetheless. "They've been living down here since my father hired them. I learned to speak their language as we lived together."

"You sound like you've lived a pretty interesting life," Yugi noted.

"By some people's standards, I suppose," Atem admitted, beginning to walk back toward the entrance to the sewers. "But it's only because I had nowhere to truly call home."

* * *

Tea, Joey, and Tristan filed in with the rest of the world's royalty as they walked in a giant procession into the palace. "Guys," Tea muttered under her breath to her wide-eyed friends, "try to at least act like real representatives, alright?"

Kaylik was a far-off and frozen country that only a few scholars knew about intimately. Calling oneself a representative of that country would be fairly easy considering that few to no people knew their history, culture, or system of government.

Dartz, clad in blue-green robes, stood at the entrance of the hall and greeted the guests with a strangely enchanting and soft voice. "Welcome to our estate," he said humbly, bowing to the duke and duchess of Nurim. Tea's dress gave her confidence as she walked right up to Dartz and curtsied daintily. Tristan and Joey bowed low at the waist in deference to the triumvir.

"Thank you for coming," he said cordially, and they walked past him, unable to hide a satisfied smile.

"Well, we're in," Tea said. "Now we just need to talk to the other representatives and royals to figure out…" That was when Tea realized that she was talking to herself. Joey had made a beeline for the open buffet, and Tristan was meandering about, occasionally slipping some expensive object into his pocket. Tea growled. She'd have to do all the work herself.

"All by yourself, huh?" a woman asked suddenly. Tea spun around. It was a woman in a low-cut green silk dress with fiery red hair that had spoken. "Hi," the woman said, extending her hand. "My name is Benny; I'm the duchess of Tanar."

Tea shook Benny's hand warmly. "Benny's an interesting name," Tea commented.

"My real name is Benila, but it sounds so much like vanilla, don't you think?" Benny asked. "How'd you get in here?" The blood drained momentarily from Tea's face. Benny grew concerned. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Oh, oh, no, I'm fine," Tea said. "I-I'm a representative from Kaylik. Some of my fellow representatives came with me, but they're mingling with other people."

"_Mingling with the cocktail shrimp," _Tea muttered mentally.

"Some ball, hm?" Benny asked with a touch of envy. "Our country's a bit poor for a ball at the moment, I'm afraid. Our people have a nasty habit of not paying their taxes and being beheaded."

"I'm surprised that you're so honest," Tea replied. "Most politicians and royalty try to cover up their country's flaws."

Benny scoffed. "It's not as if Baliseh doesn't have its share of problems," she said mischievously. "I've heard rumors that former king Aknamkanon didn't die in his sleep. His 'favorite counselors' murdered him with a special device invented by a Mr. Maximillion Pegasus, one that makes murder almost look like natural causes, supposedly."

"Pegasus? The famous scientist?" Tea asked, as if she didn't already know.

Benny nodded grimly. "And I've also heard that before Pegasus died, Triumvir Bakura had hired him to make some sort of 'perfect weapon'. Whatever's really going on, Baliseh's triumvirate isn't widely trusted."

* * *

Yugi flinched at the cold night air as he and Atem emerged from the sewers. Most of his clothes and skin were wet from the splashes of the rushing White River as they walked beside it. It was dark now, and he shivered.

"Cold?" Atem asked. Even thought he, too, was wet, he still had untouchable air of dignity about him. Yugi nodded mutely and crossed his arms for warmth. Atem put his arm around Yugi's shoulders in a surprising gesture of protective affection. "Let's go back to headquarters and tell _Henson_ that we've finished our mission so that you can get dry before you head home. You should dress more warmly, Yugi; it's nearly winter."

"I'm w-wearing a jacket, and I didn't expect to get wet," Yugi explained. "Aren't you c-cold?"

"I'm more tolerant of cold and heat than humans are," Atem said. "I'm fine, but these conditions aren't good for you."

They began to walk to the tavern. The streets were nearly empty except for a few drunks, thieves, and night-shift workers. The shops had all closed for the night, the taverns were full, the houses were safe and snug and brightly light. It had been a few months since Yugi had seen Ralkir at night, he noticed, and he had almost forgotten the eerie tranquility the dark spread over the bustling city.

"Yugi, stop," Atem said suddenly, as they walked down the now completely empty street where Joey and Tristan's shop lay. Yugi stopped immediately. Atem's enormous, horizontal ears bent slightly to his left. Then Yugi, with his regular human ears, heard it too. A number of footsteps were approaching them.

Something hit Yugi's back and began to send waves of pain through his body. He screamed and convulsed, and then he passed out from the agony.


	7. The Key to Everything

"Hello?" a voice asked him. The word seemed muddled and distorted to his ears. "Are you quite all right? You looked like you've been through a rough time."

Yugi slowly opened his eyes. The light in the room was mercifully dim. A teenage with incredibly pale skin, white hair, and brown eyes was looking concernedly at him. "Bakura!" Yugi exclaimed, sitting up instantly and backing up against the wall. Whatever room he was in, it was almost completely empty except for a few rodent skeletons in the corner.

The pale boy smiled sheepishly. "Well, my last name is Bakura, but I think that you're confusing me with my older brother," he said. "Please, call me Ryou."

Yugi stared warily at Ryou. "Triumvir Bakura's younger brother?" he asked. If Ryou really was Bakura's brother, that would mean that Ryou, too, was a vampire. Yugi felt a strong and unjust disliking for innocent-looking Ryou rise in his heart, though he did his best to suppress it.

"Yes," Ryou said sadly. "Not many people know that I exist, actually, except for my fellow prisoners."

"Prisoners?"

"Oh, yes. We're in the Ralkir City Penitentiary. We're in Sector C, for traitors and terrorists," Ryou explained calmly. "I've been here for about three weeks now. What did you get in for?"

"I was working with a group to overthrow the triumvirate," Yugi explained. "What about you? You don't look like a terrorist."

Ryou's expression saddened once again. "My brother put me down here because I was trying to free the humans being held captive in Research and Development. There's another one, you see-"

"A secret one, I know," Yugi said. "Why did you try to rescue them?" he asked incredulously.

Ryou was a little taken aback by Yugi's tone, but he continued, "You've heard of Maximillion Pegasus, the scientist, haven't you?" Yugi nodded. "He was keeping humans in Research and Development and experimenting on them. Rumor is that he was trying to make some sort of incredibly powerful weapon, but every time he tried it with a human, elf, or even a vampire, the test subject would die.

"I wasn't going to sit back and watch those people get hurt, so I tried to release as many of them as I could. I couldn't get them all out before I was arrested and put down here, though."

"But… you risked your life for them," Yugi stated. "Why?"

Ryou frowned at him. "What else was I supposed to do?"

"Oh, I… I just didn't expect it," Yugi stammered uncomfortably.

"You didn't think I'd want to save them because I'm a vampire, didn't you?" Ryou asked. Blushing in shame, Yugi nodded slowly. "A lot of people think that," Ryou said. "I suppose it would be hard to trust a race that likes to eat you. But I never did think of humans as food, so don't worry about me."

* * *

"Wake up, Atem-boy, I don't have all day," a man said impatiently. Atem opened his eyes slowly to let them adjust to the incredibly bright light. He was strapped to a cold table in the middle of the room. He would have easily pulled off his restraints, but found that he was having difficulty moving at all.

As his pupils contracted to allow him to see, a tall figure in front of him became clearer and clearer.

"… Pegasus?" Atem asked groggily. "I thought…"

"What?" Pegasus asked. "You thought I was dead? You thought you had killed me?" There were scars and bandages covering his exposed face and hands. His eye was missing. "No, no, Atem-boy, it takes much more than that to kill me."

"What are you?" Atem demanded.

Pegasus laughed. "I'm a scientist, naturally. Unlike you. You are an anomaly such as the world has never seen. No one expected a human and an elf to breed, much less successfully. And since I am a scientist, it is my inclination to explore this anomaly."

"If you think I'm going to let you do whatever you want with me-"

"Come now, Atem-boy, did you really think that I was going to let myself be in a vulnerable position?" Pegasus asked. "You have no power here, regardless of your superior strength, agility, and constitution. My technology has already beaten you twice: I survived your assault, and I captured you and your friend."

"Yugi…" Atem muttered. "Where is he? What did you do with him?"

"He's relatively out of harm's way, don't worry," Pegasus said blithely. "Terrorist though he may be, he's not the one the king is interested in."

"King?" Atem repeated. "The king is four weeks dead, Pegasus. For a scientist, your facts are awfully outdated."

Pegasus just smiled and turned back to one of his tables. "I'm not talking about your father, you fool," he said, turning around with a syringe full of yellowish liquid in his hand. "I'm talking about the future king, the one whom I serve!"

Pegasus stuck the syringe's needle into Atem's arm and pressed the yellowish liquid into his bloodstream. Atem felt his vision begin to fade and his head begin to grow befuddled. A heavy weakness like he had never known came over his limbs and his eyes and his thoughts, and he felt into a deep, drug-induced sleep.

* * *

"So what happened?" Ryou asked as he showed Yugi around the prison. The entire penitentiary was in such a state of decay that all of the prisoners could walk around as they pleased, but security on the exit was great enough that no one dared to try and escape. "Rather, how did you get captured?"

"Well, it started when my friend Tea and I decided to do something about your brother and the rest of the triumvirate," Yugi began. "Some of my friends are… well, they're vampire hunters—I mean, bounty hunters that know how to hunt vampires too." Ryou smiled in his shy way, encouraging Yugi to go on.

"When we told my friends Joey and Tristan about what we were thinking, they introduced us to a group of people who had been thinking the same thing. They had set up their headquarters below Joey and Tristan's shop," Yugi explained. "We signed up to help the resistance, which is what they called themselves, and that's when I met my friend Atem…" He trailed off.

"Is something wrong?" Ryou asked.

"Atem! He was with me when I was captured!" Yugi exclaimed.

Ryou sadly shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I didn't see the guards drag anyone down here with you. What did he look like? He could have come in before you."

"He looks like me, except older and he had… different ears than me," Yugi said slowly.

"Different ears?" Ryou repeated, confused.

"Yeah," Yugi said. He sighed. "Atem's a half-elf. He has ears like an elf but everything else about him is human."

"Is he your half-brother?" Ryou asked. "You said that you two looked alike."

"No, we're not related," Yugi replied truthfully. "I don't think he's down here with us. He would have tried to escape already. I just hope that wherever he is, he's all right."

* * *

Atem awakened once again, this time in a clean prison cell. Chains bound him to the wall. He was thirsty and he couldn't see well. The weakness caused by the drugs had faded, but his body was racked with stabbing pain that throbbed with his every heartbeat.

Pegasus had obviously performed some sort of experiment on him when he was asleep. Whatever it was, it was not going to continue much longer.

The chains on his ankles and wrists were made of the same material as the floor. It looked like silver. Atem yanked on his bonds, but the metal obviously wasn't silver. The chain neither broke nor pulled away from the floor. He growled in frustration and tried again, but only succeeded in getting a nasty red mark around his left wrist. It only added to the pain he was feeling.

The silvery door in front of Atem opened, revealing a man's silhouette. "Pegasus?" Atem asked. The man chuckled and walked inside, letting the spotlight above their heads illuminate his face. "Bakura…" Atem growled. "So you're the supposed future king that Pegasus was ranting about."

"What's the matter? Not happy to see me?" Bakura asked mockingly. "You'd think after all this time you'd show some respect to your betters."

"Believe me, I do," Atem retorted viciously.

"Now, now, Prince Atem, if you keep misbehaving, I won't let you in on a little secret," Bakura taunted. "Or do you not want to know why you're here?"

Atem bit his tongue. "Go on," he said reluctantly.

"Good boy," Bakura said, grinning. "You're here because you are the key to the most powerful weapon ever seen, and you will help me to rule the world."


	8. Perfect Weapon

"You will help me to rule the world," Bakura said smugly.

Atem scoffed. "You can't be serious. Why would I help you, my father's murderer?"

"You never cared for him much anyway, admit it," Bakura seethed. "Besides, it's not like you have much of a choice. Actually, you don't have a choice at all. You _will _do as I say, whether you like it or not."

"Is that what you think?"

Bakura smiled. "Stand up," he commanded softly. Immediately Atem got to his feet. "Now, bow to your future king." Though Atem would have never bowed to Bakura on his own, he felt a force more powerful than himself take control of him and bend him at the waist.

Atem fell back down on the ground, panting. What had Pegasus done to him? "I've been searching for a weapon to master the nations for my entire life. So I traveled the world like you did, seeking the secrets of the world. Then I heard of the fire-bombos of the people of the eastern mountains, also known as a bomb. I thought that I could use that strategy to make people do my bidding. But I needed a bomb more powerful than theirs, which was good for only blowing up the sides of their mountains to dig for buried treasure.

"Maximillion Pegasus agreed to help me devise this creation. The magnitude of the explosion was easy enough for him. The only problem was that we'd need a lot of bombs to keep the people in check, and it couldn't be stolen. Then I thought, 'Why don't we give a living being this power? They would control it and release it at will, and I would control them.

"Pegasus then developed a machine to control the heart of a man at the word of his master."

"You are not my master," Atem interrupted.

"Silence," Bakura said shortly. Atem's mouth closed instantaneously. "As I was saying, this device would allow any man to control the actions of another. Now we just needed a person to turn into our living fire-bombos. So we captured humans, elves, my fellow vampires, and even nymphs of every age, every race, every sex, and brought them here. None of them survived the procedure.

"When I gained my position as a member of the triumvirate, I was that much closer to being the king, but I had those other two fools to worry about. Though together we could kill King Aknamkanon, I alone could not undermine them both, especially without arousing the public, which would be an unwise thing to do without my perfect weapon.

"Then Pegasus met you face-to-face. You knocked him unconscious and left him to burn. But he managed to survive somehow. He has more tricks up his sleeve than I gave him credit for. But he was the one who came up with the idea to try you for the human bomb. After all, only one half-elf existed in the world, which made it even more difficult for someone else to try and copy our work. So we captured you and your beloved Yugi so that we could finally complete what we've been working on for a decade! I will be king, and Pegasus will be the most widely known and respected scientist in the world.

"When I destroy the city of Stanberg, the world will tremble at my power. They will bow down to me and beg me for mercy! No one will try to rebel. They'll know that they and their entire city will be obliterated if they try. The earth belongs to me now."

Bakura walked forward and took a key out of his pocket. "Stay, boy," he said, just as if Atem was a dog. He unlocked Atem's chains. Atem would have given anything in the world to strangle Bakura on the spot, but his arms and legs wouldn't move. Bakura was right—Atem was completely under his control.

* * *

"You gonna take that dress off, Tea?" Joey asked. "I think Henson wants it back."

Tea took a sip of the celebratory beer that Henson had given her because of her flawless execution of her mission. Tristan and Joey had gotten no such beer, since Tea had made it perfectly clear that they had done no work whatsoever. "He can have it back when I'm finished with it," Tea stated. "But where do you think Yugi and Atem are? It couldn't have taken them very long to open the east sluice gate."

"Do ya think they got into trouble?" Tristan asked. "But why would they? First of all, nobody knows that Yugi and Atem are working for the resistance. Second of all, Atem could have taken any guards that he and Yugi ran into. Third of all, the vampires in the east sluice would have all been drowned before they could have tried to hurt Yugi or Atem."

"I know, it doesn't make much sense," Tea admitted. "I mean, everyone who saw us in the secret Research and Development is dead now. Unless… somebody survived the fire."

A man burst into the basement, breathing heavily and looking disheveled. "I just saw it," he panted. "Two… of our newest members… just got captured by government soldiers."

"Two newest members?" Tea asked, standing up. "Who were they? What did they look like?"

"Looked kinda the same, like brothers, 'cept one of them was a couple of inches taller than the other and had elf's ears," the man replied.

"Oh, no," Tea breathed. "Atem and Yugi!"

"Where'd da soldiers take them?" Joey demanded. "I'm gonna break every bone in their bodies!"

"The soldiers brought them to Central Square first, and then they separated," the man answered. "They took the boy to West District, but they took the guy with elf's ears to the North."

"West District has to be the prison," Tea said. "But what about North District? Where would they be taking Atem?"

"Research and Development? The fake one, I mean?" Tristan suggested.

"You heard what Atem said about that. The controversial stuff was for the real Research and Development. I think that these soldiers took Atem to the palace." Tea gasped. "Maybe this is about the weapon that the duchess was talking about! I mean, nothing else makes sense!"

"But you said that Pegasus was the one who was working on this weapon," Tristan said. "And Pegasus is dead."

"I know," Tea said. "But why else would the triumvirate try to capture Yugi and Atem? Why would they bring Atem to the palace and put Yugi in prison? I think that Bakura wants to do something with him to make his weapon, whether Pegasus is alive or not."

They thanked the man who had brought them the news, and after Tea had changed they went out to North District to see what they could see. "Guys," Tea said suddenly, stopping just as they entered the North, "what's that sound?" A grating echo grew louder and louder as its message repeated.

A man's voice encircled them and boomed distortedly into their ears. "Baliseans," the man said. "This is your lord, former triumvir Bakura."

"Former?" Tea yelled over the sound of Bakura's monologue.

"Every man has been given a destiny," Bakura began. Tea, Joey, and Tristan began to run in the direction of the palace to see exactly what was going on. They weren't the only ones. People were pouring out of their houses to see what the racket was about. "My destiny is to continue Baliseh's beloved monarchy."

"Bakura's king?" Tristan asked.

"And I feel that, as king, it is my duty to give all of you a little demonstration of my ability to maintain order in my kingdom," Bakura continued. The gang ran up to the palace and saw Bakura on the balcony, speaking into a strangely shaped black stick. Atem, standing as stiffly as a log, was behind him.

"Atem!" Joey yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Atem, can you hear us?" They saw Atem's eyes move to look at them, but he did not speak or try to signal them.

"Citizens of Baliseh," Bakura said into his black stick, "the people of Stanberg, although they are our neighbors, have tried again and again to conquer us. Now I will put a stop to their rebellion." Everyone looked to the east, where the country of Stanberg lay. Bakura turned to Atem and said something to him, although the gang couldn't hear it.

Atem's eyes turned blank white and glowed brightly. The glow spread throughout his entire body, taking over his sun-deprived skin. He fell to his knees and a few shining tears ran down his cheeks.

Suddenly he flinched, and the glow disappeared in an instant. An enormous booming sound made the earth shake, and everyone stared at the east as a great red and black cloud emerged from where Stanberg once stood. The cloud was shaped almost like a mushroom.

Many people screamed, understanding that whatever that cloud was, whatever the strange elf-eared man had done, Stanberg was destroyed beyond repair or salvation. "Atem…" Tea said quietly. "What did you do?"


	9. Home

Another final chapter. Things are coming to an end. Some thanks that I would like to give out:

Thanks to **Kiku Okassu, Yizuki, Suma Amoru, Shamise, dragonlady222, Tolea-String-PurpleChoco-Mage, Deviousdragon, SRRH, lady Alexas, SasatheShy, Lord Mortanius, Nyan Rajanu, Panguins-in-American-Oh-my, Imagine.EXE, lucidscreamer, **and **yuuhikari** for being my fans and reading and reviewing and favoriting and alerting! You guys rock!

Please enjoy the last chapter!

* * *

"Bakura has undermined us," Dartz said, shaking his head as he was led by the guards down to his own prison. "What do you propose we do, Marik?"

The guards sneered at them and opened the door to the dark, decrepit penitentiary. They pushed Marik and Dartz in violently, pushing them to the muddy floor. Dartz's robes were completely soiled, though Marik's black pants didn't show much of the grime.

"This is _our_ prison," Marik said devilishly, dusting himself off as well as he could. "And though the prisoners inside it will be anxious to take their revenge, they'll be even more anxious to get out of here and regain their freedom."

"I don't know if you've noticed this, Marik, but we aren't exactly in the position to give them that freedom," Dartz argued.

Marik laughed, walking calmly down the moldy hallway to the main prison courtyard. "I once supervised the construction of the western wing of these prisons," he said. "It was an addition for the vampires who were just getting used to living peaceably among humans. I noticed that there was a small flaw in their design—one that few would notice, but one that could be easily used to my advantage if I ever found myself here in the future."

"You expected to go to prison?" Dartz asked. A bedraggled and emaciated elf looked up at them and her eyes widened in shock.

"Triumvirate!" she yelled. "Government scum! What was that loud sound? Why are you down here?" Nearly all of the prisoners in the courtyard heard her loud voice and circled around Dartz and Marik, shouting questions and insults.

"Peace, fellow prisoners," Dartz said, raising his hands in a placating manner. "For we have just as much enmity for the present king as you do. We will release you from this penitentiary… but you must give this king as much misery as you can muster. Do you understand?"

Shouts of appreciation came from the mob. Marik turned and led them to the western wing. A small drain was located at the base of a corner. It was wide enough to allow a child or a thin adult, and thinness was not an uncommon trait for the prisoners. Marik banged lightly on it and it popped out—the pegs that held it in place were made of wood, which had rotted almost completely over the years.

One by one, all of the two hundred and sixty eight prisoners crawled out of the drain into the sewers, where they walked down the pathway leading to the sewer grate in Central Square. But Dartz and Marik stopped one boy with pale skin and white hair.

"Bakura's little brother," Marik muttered, looking Ryou up and down. A boy with spiky, tri-colored hair stopped and turned back for Ryou. "I think that you hate him as much as we do."

Ryou nodded silently, and Dartz and Marik let him go. The spiky-haired boy joined up with him immediately and looked back at Dartz and Marik with a puzzled expression. After everyone else had left, the former triumvirs got on their hands and knees and crawled through the dirty drain, plotting their revenge all the while.

* * *

"Ryou, what do you think that noise was?" Yugi asked, running through the sewers to Central Square. "It shook the ceiling."

"I think that's what they call an explosion," Ryou replied. "My older brother made of lot of them in his spare time. They were smaller than that, however."

"What do explosions do?" Yugi asked.

"They destroy things," Ryou said sadly. "Whatever that explosion was, it must have destroyed something really big, like an entire building."

When they climbed onto the square, they saw chaos. The prisoners were taking Dartz and Marik's orders most literally and were setting fires, stealing valuables, and running amuck in the street.

"Do you want another demonstration?" Bakura's voice bellowed. Yugi and Ryou looked around, but they couldn't see Bakura anywhere. "The noise you heard, prisoners, was the sound of my perfect weapon destroying the city of Stanberg!"

The prisoners stopped and listened to the bodiless voice. "And I won't hesitate to do the same to this sorry city if you dare disobey me," Bakura threatened. "You will do as I say, and I say that you will stop your vandalizing and report to the West District so that you all can be counted and dealt with."

As a further demonstration of his power, the historic fountain in the Central Square exploded and rained debris across the courtyard. A piece of stone hit Ryou in the head, and he collapsed. Yugi knelt down next to him. "Ryou… Ryou!" he yelled, shaking him.

Yugi felt terrible leaving Ryou lying in the middle of the street, but he couldn't carry Ryou, and he had to see what was going on at the palace. He dodged the mass of frightened prisoners, who were fleeing to West District for their lives, and dashed to the North.

Almost the entire population of Baliseh was standing in front of the palace. Bakura was standing on the balcony with Atem at his side. Atem was crying. Yugi pushed past the crowd and the befuddled guards and headed straight inside the building. He ran without pause to the balcony itself, determined to stop whatever Bakura was doing to the city and to Atem.

"Bakura!" Yugi yelled. Bakura and Atem spun around.

"Yugi!" Atem exclaimed. "Yugi, please leave the city, before I…"

"Be quiet!" Bakura ordered. Atem's mouth closed, but his eyes still pleaded with Yugi desperately. "I'm not surprised that Atem wants to save you, little Yugi. As far as I know, you're the only person who's ever actually treated him decently. Not that he deserves it, of course."

"What did you do to him? What did you do to the fountain?" Yugi demanded.

"_I _didn't do anything to the fountain," Bakura replied, grinning. "Atem was the one who did it all. Atem was the one who destroyed the city of Stanberg as well."

Yugi looked at Atem, who looked downward in shame. That was why he was crying. Atem didn't have any problems with leaving someone like Pegasus to die—a personality trait which Yugi reluctantly overlooked—but killing an entire city filled with innocents weighed heavily on his conscience.

"But I have to admit," Bakura said, "that I did do something to Atem. I gave him power and the incentive to use that power for my gain."

"Stop it! You've killed people! You've made Atem kill people!" Yugi yelled angrily. "This isn't the way to become king!"

"And what other way is there?" Bakura asked. "No one would be able to rule, whether they had the ability or not, with this idiotic monarchy in place! So I took the throne for myself, because I deserve it! "

"You don't deserve it, not after everything you've done," Yugi argued.

"But thanks to your former friend, there's no one on earth that can stop me—not Dartz or Marik, not my foolish little brother, and not you! The only person that could possibly do anything to me would be Maximillion Pegasus himself, whom I shall credit with the invention of my perfect weapon. He won't be easily bribed, though. You wouldn't be able to give him anything I couldn't."

"Maximillion Pegasus made Atem make explosions?" Yugi asked. He looked above them. The palace was lit with electric lights. There was a water jug on a stand for when the king made speeches. "So… he used machines, right?" Yugi and Atem's eyes met, and Atem understood what Yugi was planning. He nodded his consent. "Sorry," he said quickly, and tossed the water jug onto the section of floor where Bakura and Atem were standing.

Atem exploded the electric light above them, which fell to the floor in a shower of sparks. Yugi jumped back, but he heard Atem and Bakura scream with the pain of the electricity flowing through their bodies. But the current ended quickly, and both of them passed out onto the wet ground.

Yugi disregarded Bakura and ran to Atem's side. He was still breathing, and his heart was beating strongly, although his already unruly hair stood up even more, if it were possible. Hopefully the electric current had caused his mechanical implants to malfunction but had caused no permanent damage to his body.

* * *

Atem had awoken the next week, feeling groggy but alive. Bakura, on the other hand, never woke up. The electric shock must have been extreme, and Atem was lucky to survive. Pegasus had unwillingly consented to remove the hardware from Atem's heart. Atem had consented not to kill him on the grounds that he discontinued the rest of his research permanently.

The prisoners who had escaped were sentenced to return to the penitentiary, including Dartz and Marik, who were tried for aiding and abetting the murder of a government official. In exchange for twenty years off his sentence, Marik had informed the prison guards of the hole in the west wing wall.

Though the city was well under construction, Baliseh was now without a king or a triumvirate to lead them. The councilmembers that had served King Aknamkanon in the past were ruling the city themselves, but everyone was aware that this was just a temporary situation. Baliseh needed a ruler.

The circumstances of the past week had traveled across the city like wildfire. Atem was a half-elf, an illegitimate son of King Aknamkanon and a rightful heir to the throne. The public wondered if they would want someone like that, someone who, though under duress, had destroyed the entire city of Stanberg.

After a few days, the public had made up its mind. Better an illegitimate half-elf who was the son of the real king than a group of self-appointed tyrants.

Atem leaned against the wall of his father's room, looking out the window at the city. The Central Square fountain was being rebuilt. People were trying to rebuild the homes and shops that had been vandalized and looted by the prisoners. Thousands of papers floated around the palace courtyard—each one symbolized the vote of a Balisean citizen for Atem to become the next king.

Someone knocked on his door. "Come in," Atem said quietly. Yugi walked in timidly.

"Hi," he began. "I didn't know if you wanted to be alone…"

"No, I could use someone to talk to," Atem replied, smiling briefly at Yugi. "Yugi, I don't know what to do," he admitted. "It's obvious that the people want me to be king, but they hardly even know me. I could be as bad as Bakura was."

"Do you think that?" Yugi asked.

"I doubt I have the skills to rule well," Atem said.

"I think you're wrong," Yugi said. "You said that you spent most of your life listening to what was going on in the palace. You know at lot about government! And since you've traveled the world, you'd be able to make a lot of allies since you understand their cultures."

Atem looked at him. "Do you really think that I'm cut out for this?" he asked.

Yugi smiled. "My grandpa and I voted for you."

* * *

Atem walked out onto the balcony of the palace, wearing the traditional long, linen tunic, royal purple cape, and gold circlet of his forefathers. The gold on his arms and ankles was heavy, but not as heavy as the Stanberg armor he used to wear. His ears poked out from behind his bangs, and his skin was regaining its natural tan color which it had lost because of its lack of exposure to the sun.

The masses had gathered at the palace courtyard. Atem could see Yugi and his grandfather grinning up at him. Joey and Tristan were pushing their way unceremoniously to the front of the crowd. Tea was jumping up and down and waving.

"All hail Lord Atem, the true king of Baliseh!" The people fell to one knee with a loud sound. His friends and enemies bowed before him. And slowly, uncertainly, Atem smiled. He was home.


End file.
